ABOUT
In its newly established series of monthly concerts, St Martini next hosts I Bricconcelli, a newly formed Cape Town-based ensemble of two like-minded musicians, who both pursue a wide range of activities, including that of playing the Baroque cello, as well as its Romantic successor, the so-called the modern cello.
Under the programmatic guise of I Bricconcelli (an affectionate reference to charmingly mischievous and subversively crafty individuals) the two cellists pursue several goals: foremost that of 'playing', i.e. playfully rather than 'professionally' performing music of their own choice and in their own style. In the same vein they wish to explore the lesser-known original repertoire for cello duo, as well as contribute own arrangements to this genre, all the while applying exacting standards to a range of different musical styles. This naturally entails performing in a historically informed manner and, whenever possible, on period instruments – even if it means changing instruments in the same concert.
In this concert Telemann & Bach will be played on Baroque instruments in low pitch, Franchomme, Kummer, Offenbach on modern cellos in high pitch and Sollima in the required scordatura tuning, all the while also exploring the sonic possibilities of St Martini's unique acoustical conditions.
Matthias Remley-Ender began playing the cello at the age of eight in Hohenems, Austria. He studied with Michael Hell at the Tiroler Landeskonservatorium in Innsbruck, graduating with distinction, and furthered his studies through masterclasses with Roel Dieltiens and Raphael Wallfisch.
As a freelance musician, he performed with various orchestras and chamber ensembles, including the Vorarlberger Landessinfonieorchester, Kammerphilharmonie Bodensee Oberschwaben, Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck and the NOMA piano trio.
His repertoire spans from Renaissance music to contemporary works, with a particular passion for historically informed performance and music written before 1800.
Since moving to Cape Town in 2022, Matthias has been a member of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hans Huyssen is a composer, cellist, conductor and music teacher with a passion for early Baroque, indigenous South African and contemporary music. He received the Helgaard Steyn Award for composition in 2010 and completed a practice-based PhD at Stellenbosch University in 2015.
As a performer, he is a founding member and director of the period-instrument ensembles così facciamo and Cape Consort, which has pioneered historically informed performances of Early Music in Cape Town.
Through his independent label mucavi records, Huyssen has also released recordings exploring early, contemporary and indigenous South African musical traditions.